


Welcome To My Nightmare

by Hisha



Series: Auntie Hornet [8]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game), Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Female Grimm, Gen, Nightmare King is a gender-neutral title, Or rather female Grimmchild grew up into Grimm, very minor background character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-15 15:06:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21255314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hisha/pseuds/Hisha
Summary: It was only a matter of time before Queen Hornet found out about her niece's plan.





	1. Chapter 1

Hornet made her way to the statue of the Ghost Knight and found her niece standing in front of it.

“Hello, auntie”, she said without even turning around.

“I didn't know you would be visiting today. That's a nice surprise.”

Scarlet looked back at her aunt.

“It has been a long time since I've paid a visit to this monument”, she said.

Hornet walked up to and stood next to her niece. The latter was almost twice as tall as her.

“So, what have you been up to lately?” the queen asked.

“Well... We have been working on something for years now. Even with no-one in the way anymore, it has been a slow process. I hope to see it completed soon.”

“Being Nightmare King is tiring work, I am sure.”

Scarlet shifted her wings slightly. She was still wrapped up in them, though less tightly than usual.

“You will be a great-auntie soon”, she announced.

“Beg your pardon?”

Scarlet opened her wing just enough to reveal a fabric pouch strapped to her body. She took something from it to show her aunt : a round, slightly translucent bright red egg. She quickly put it back in her bag and closed her wings again.

“It won't hatch for a while still”, she explained. “Maybe, before it does...”

She trailed off and looked back at the statue.

“You don't want it to carry the same burden as you”, Hornet guessed.

She couldn't quite reach her niece's shoulder so she put her hand on her side instead.

“I... I found a way”, the taller one said, “but it has been a very long one. I just hope it'll be done before... before the end of my cycle.”

There was a moment of silence before she spoke again, staring right through the statue and ancient temple in front of them, to warn that a group of bugs was approaching.

Said group arrived soon, most likely to admire the monuments, so the queen and her niece stepped away to give them a better view.

“Have you decided on a name for your child yet?” Hornet asked.

“Grimmchildren traditionally aren't given individual names”, Scarlet replied. “Not by anyone in the Troupe, at least. They can still be named by their other caretakers, like you did with me. On the other hand, if we manage to make the Ritual not necessary anymore... maybe I _could_ think of a name.”

“So...” Hornet said, quiet enough that only her niece could hear, “what exactly have you been working on? What is the way you found?”

“...It would take too long to explain.”

“Long enough to make me miss the stag to my next meeting?” the queen asked.

“Definitely. Who are you meeting?”

“The new Hive Queen.”

“A long trip... You better get going then. Oh, is Taon still around?”

“They have retired now”, Hornet explained, “but they are still alive and kicking. Our friend is a sturdy bug. And they would be pleased to see you again.”

“I will pay them a visit while you go to the Hive, then.”

  
  


“Good to see you again!” Taon said as they opened the door to Scarlet. “'Been a while. Come on in!”

The retired merchant had a bigger, prettier house than before. Nothing extravagant (they favoured quality and comfort over the kind of luxury that existed solely to show off), but Scarlet could tell it must be the comfiest place to live in for them. They led their guest to the living room and invited her to take a seat on the couch.

It, too, didn't look that extravagant, yet as soon as Scarlet sat she could feel that it was made of the softest and most comfortable materials. She wished she had one of those for her room. Kaydence would certainly appreciate it...

Taon served them both simple sugar water ; however it was the best one the princess of Dirtmouth had ever tasted. They must have access to better quality sugar.

“So, what you been up to, princess?” they asked as they sat on the armchair in front of the couch.

Scarlet put her drink down on the low table between them before replying :

“I've been... busy. With a few things. Laying an egg among them.”

“...Sorry, what?”

“Laying an egg”, she repeated.

“Wow. Time does fly, huh? I always feel like it wasn't so long ago that you were a baby, ya know? And now you're gonna have your own? I feel old...”

She hummed and picked her glass back up.

“So, hum...” Taon hesitated. “How- I mean, I thought you were the last of your species or somethin'. Did you find another?”

“There are no others, and I require no external help to have a child”, Scarlet explained, “but the members of my Troupe are more than willing to help me parent it once it hatches.”

“Well that's convenient.”

“That was the point”, she mumbled, more to herself than to them.

At this point, she was convinced she could just make up anything about how Grimms worked and Taon would just accept it as truth. She couldn't quite come up with a lie to test this theory out, though. The truth was already strange enough to outsiders.

“...Anyway, you decided on a name for the kiddo yet?” they asked.

“Not yet.”

“I hope I'll get to meet 'em before I die. That would be neat.”

Scarlet nodded and finished her glass.

“Would be neat indeed”, she agreed as she set her glass back down again. “I should be on my way, though. I have... a lot of work to do before the egg hatches.”

“Leavin' already?”

“Like I said : a lot of work. But I shall be back soon so Hornet and yourself can properly meet my child, I promise.”

  
  


Some time later, Hornet found a familiar-looking bug in a Grimm Troupe mask standing next to her doorstep. He looked like one of the children she had seen with the Troupe before, but all grown up now. Strapped to his back was an accordion similar to the one that Brumm had.

“Oh, you're here!” he said, voice slightly muffled by the mask. “Hi!”

“If you are here for Scarlet”, Hornet told him, “she has left already.”

“Who's Sc- oh, right. Right. I forgot. I'm here to see _you_, actually. To show you something! I'm Zephyr by the way.”

“Show me then, Zephyr.”

After a quick detour through the nightmare realm, they soon found themselves at the entrance of a large mound covered in pine needles. The Troupe member explained it was an ant nest. There were no ants to be seen anywhere and the tunnel they entered was suspiciously silent.

They kept walking for a minute or so before finally meeting two ants carrying the corpse of a third one. When Hornet called out to them, they almost dropped it.

“Who- who are you?” one asked.

“Should we... raise the alarm?” the other said with such an exhausted voice the intruders wondered how she was still standing.

“We mean you no harm”, Hornet reassured them. “I would simply like to ask a few questions...”

“You're wondering why the colony's been so quiet, aren't you”, the first ant said.

She and her sister lowered the corpse to the ground.

“At first some of us started having strange nightmares”, she said. “Then more and more did... and more frequently, more intensely. Most of us have opted to avoid resting altogether, but... even the sturdiest ants have their limits.”

“Mother still hasn't woken up...”, the other ant added.

The ants excused themselves and picked the corpse back up.

“You should leave before what's left of our soldiers find you”, they told the intruders before disappearing down a side-tunnel.

Hornet and Zephyr went back outside to talk.

“You know what happened here, don't you?” she asked him.

He nodded.

“Back when she first arrived, Master had my mother and the Grimmkins make the Needle of Unity. To stitch the Dream and Nightmare together. Make them one again so the Heart won't need the Ritual anymore. They can do that now that no-one is guarding the Dream...”

“So this is what she has been working on? Does she realise the toll this has taken on the outside world?”

“Today's bugs are... not used to the realms being one”, Zephyr explained. “That's why it's been taking so long. Master can't unite the realms too fast, or the bugs can't adjust! I think she must have something against this colony. Or she was curious. Or both. She's been _very_ careful everywhere else. But here... this is just- Master's going too far! The Troupe collect flames of fallen kingdoms, we don't _make _them fall! You'll have to take the Needle from her.”

“I will.”

“She always has it on her”, the Troupe member said. “In a bag with her egg.”

“What else do I need to know?”

He told her everything he knew about the plan, about the Nightmare Heart, anything that could potentially help.

“The Grimms are vessels”, Hornet said after a while, “but they are not hollow. I wonder... how much of all of this is her trying to break free of the Ritual and how much is the Heart seeking power?”

“Where does the vessel ends and the Heart starts? No-one knows. Not sure even she does.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were wondering why it took me two weeks to post this chapter, it's because I re-wrote it completely many times. Hope you like the final result! ^^

Divine suspected Brumm and Zephyr were up to something. She didn't _really_ know, though. If she knew for sure, she would be obligated to stop them. If she didn't, then Master couldn't get mad at her for not intervening.

Her son was out somewhere (he was old enough to handle himself in the outside world so she didn't have to worry too much), the Master hadn't yet returned from her own errand, and Brumm was talking to Kaydence on the other side of the tent.

The appearance the butterfly had chosen wasn't that much different from how she looked before joining. Her colours had shifted to fit better with the rest of the Troupe and she was slightly taller, but that was about it. She wore a silk choker around her neck that matched her chitin so well you could barely tell it was even there. Early on Divine had asked what the point of an accessory you can't see was ; Kaydence had replied that she had her reasons and these were none of the other bug's business, thank you.

Divine left the others to whatever their conversation was and went right outside to bring water to the Grimmsteeds guarding the entrance of the main tent. They remained as silent as ever, but to her their grateful expressions and head gestures were clearer than words could ever be.

Divine talked to them with her words and they occasionally chimed in with their gestures. They were the best listeners in all the Nightmare Realm.

Then, without any warning, the Troupe Master appeared before the three of them.

“Welcome back, Master!” Divine announced loudly, hoping the others inside would hear.

Grimm greeted her and the steeds back then entered the main tent. As soon as she did so, Kaydence flew to her and landed firmly on her feet right in the Master's way and screamed in her face :

“What did you _do_?!”

Grimm froze.

“...A- a mistake”, she replied a few agonisingly long seconds later while staring at the floor.

“A mistake? Bugs are dying! What were you thinking?!”

“I...” the Troupe Master hesitated.

Divine couldn't see her face from where she was, but she could see her all hunched over. A rare sight. Had the Master ever been like this before?

“...I need a moment”, Grimm whispered, and disappeared.

“Come back here!” Kaydence yelled, stomping her foot down.

She then headed straight to the Master's room.

  
  


Kaydence burst into Grimm's room to find her just standing there in the middle, her back to her, unmoving.

“Welcome...Kaydence...” she said, remaining still.

This stopped the butterfly dead in her tracks. The Troupe Master not making eye contact was a common occurrence ; the slow monotone of her voice however, was not.

“...Grimm?” Kaydence asked.

“We were... careless”, the other explained. “They did not care if you died... so we did not care about them either...”

“Are you- why are you talking like this? What's going on?”

“If you are wondering... whether it is your fault somehow... It is not. You never asked us anything.”

“...Thank y- I mean, no. I'm not- I'm certainly not thanking you for _this_. But the reassuring... I needed it.”

The other still hadn't moved.

Kaydence nervously adjusted her choker. Was the room darker than usual?

“We cannot undo the damage that has already been done... But we shall... make sure their nightmares stop... They will be able to rebuild their colony... in time.”

Slowly, hesitantly, the butterfly took one step forward.

“Seriously, are you- are you alright? You're not sounding like yourself and- Oh. Wait a second-”

“You know why we do the Ritual...”, the other interrupted her. “But do you know... why we do it when we do? Why parent and child get so little time together?”

Kaydence did not reply. She was too busy trying to process what was probably happening.

“Hosting a god... is not good for your health” the slow, monotone voice continued. “If we waited too long... the vessel would get too weak... to carry out the Ritual...”

“Who- who am I _really_ talking to?” Kaydence asked.

“...Does it matter?”

“It does to me.”

“Kaydence.” The voice got just slightly faster, bringing it just a little closer to normal. “If the Ritual doesn't take place as normal... the body will get weaker and weaker. Will you still look after us and the child in spite of...”

“Y-yes, Master. The child-to-be is innocent in all of this. And... well. I swore to aid you in whatever way I'm able, didn't I... so I _have_ to. But do not expect me to forget. You better make amend for... all that.”

The Troupe Master finally turned around to face Kaydence. When she spoke again, it was with her usual tone.

“Thank you, dear.”

Before Kaydence could ask anything else, Grimm continued :

“We have an unexpected guest.”

“Grimm, what in the-”

“Seems Brumm and Zephyr told my aunt on me.”

  
  


Everyone was on or near the stage now. Grimmkins were starting to fill up the seats and the Grimmsteeds were peeking from the side as their Master explained to her aunt how she planned to fix, or at least make amend for, her mistakes.

“I cannot separate the realms again”, she said, “but this also means we should have greater power over their dreams.”

“So you will make the nightmares stop”, Hornet replied.

“Yes. And their queen should- I mean, _will _wake up and... well. Replace the lost ants. I can send my kin to aid them in the meantime.”

“One more question remains”, the Queen of Dirtmouth stated. “Why go through all of this... work on this plan for years, letting others suffer, when there is a much simpler solution to all of your problems?”

There was a long pause as everyone stared at her with curiosity and confusion.

“...I am afraid I don't follow, auntie”, Grimm finally admitted.

Hornet planted her needle in the ground and rested her hand atop its eye. She took a look at everyone around her, all devoted members of the Troupe in their own ways. Long years of reigning over her own kingdom had taught her to recognise when whatever she was about to propose wouldn't be received well by everyone.

“Perhaps this is not the best time to discuss this”, she decided. “I suggest you get to work right away. We shall talk in private at a later time.”

The Troupe Master started giving instructions to the Grimmkins immediately, then teleported away to meet up with the ants.

Between taking the nightmares away, convincing the inhabitants of the nest to accept outside help and actually helping them rebuild what needed to be, Grimm (and everyone else) was so busy for the next few days that she did not get any time alone with her aunt. Hornet herself regularly went back and forth between the nest and Dirtmouth to see how things were going thanks to a Gate her niece had made for her with the Needle of Unity. That same Gate was also used to send in aid from Dirtmouth, creating and solidifying an alliance between the two places.

Thanks to Grimmkins filling in for workers, the latter (well, those still alive) could rest and recover. Soon, more and more ants got back to their jobs. The colony obviously wouldn't be back to its former glory for some time, but they were increasingly confident that they could get there eventually.

  
  


That day, Kaydence had been invited to Hornet's house to chat and share some sugar water.

“It's just...” the butterfly hesitated as she set her glass back down on the table and adjusted her position on her stool. “I want to give her a second chance, but... should I?” She nervously drummed her fingers on the table. “I know she did not anticipate just how bad things could truly get, and she works very hard to make amends but still... some bugs _died_. We should have- we should have prevented that...”

“The past cannot be changed,” Hornet reminded her guest while also setting her own empty glass down. “However we can decide what we want the future to be. And this choice is yours.”

Kaydence was starring at nothing, still drumming her fingers.

“Tell me”, the queen said. “Do you know why, if her objective was to break free of the Ritual, didn't she seek out to destroy the Nightmare Heart first?”

This caused the butterfly to suddenly stop her drumming and look back up at her host.

“Destroy the- Is that even possible? I mean- of course it can die, that's why we're here to prevent that, but... You can't- you can't destroy it without also killing Grimm, can you?”

“With the Needle of Unity it might be possible. We can enter her dreams and face the Heart there.”

“It can't be that simple, can it? Are you sure she could survive if it was destroyed? _She_ doesn't get to just inhabit a new vessel.”

“We will find a way”, Hornet stated.

The conversation was interrupted by Scarlet teleporting into the room.

“Oh, I did not know this was where you went”, she said when she saw Kaydence. “My apologies. I will leave you two alone.”

“Wait”, the butterfly interjected, standing up so fast her stool fell over. “I- I actually wanted to see you.”

“Oh? You... you actually-”

Scarlet froze mid-sentence and reached into her bag.

“The baby just moved!” she exclaimed, holding the egg in front of her. “Look!”

Through the translucent shell they all could see the dark silhouette of the soon-to-be-born Grimmchild move. Its mother held it close to her.

“I think it's dreaming”, she whispered. “Sleep tight, my child... It's far too late for me but it may not be too late for you.”

Hornet invited her niece to take a seat at the table, which she did.

Then Kaydence, who was still standing, put her hand on Grimm's shoulder.

“May I see the Needle for a second?” the butterfly asked.

“What for?” Scarlet asked back.

“Just let me see it.”

The taller creature hesitated for a moment. Then she put her egg back in her bag, and gave the handle of the Needle of Unity to Kaydence. The latter held it up to the light to better observe it.

“You can enter someone's dreams with it, right?” she asked.

“You know _very well_ I do not need a tool to do this”, Scarlet replied. “But someone who's not a creature of the Nightmare or Dream could use it this way, yes. Could you give it back now, please?”

Kaydence gave the handle a practice swing. Nothing happened.

“You have to charge it”, the Master of the Troupe explained, extending her hand in the hope of getting the item back. “Now please, give it back.”

“Give it to me”, Hornet said, extending her own hand to the butterfly.

Scarlet protested ; meanwhile her fellow Troupe member swung the artefact again and this time the needle part appeared, shining bright gold and red, and went right through its owner.

Hornet caught Kaydence as she collapsed.

  
  


The first thing Kaydence could perceive was the familiar beating sound. Since joining the Troupe, she had learned to tune it out ; however, it was of course louder here.

She was in a dark corridor leading to a low scarlet light. She walked towards it and the sound. Soon, she found herself in a large room of stitched together unidentified fabric, and taking up most of the ceiling, beating, its many eyes glowing like embers in the night, was the very god she had sworn to serve.

She looked up at it, frozen in place. She did not think that through nearly enough ; what was she supposed to do now? Probably leave. It was not too late to wake up and-

An opening formed on the Heart's surface, glowing like its eyes, and a flash of scarlet light blinded Kaydence for a second. When she could see again, the Nightmare King herself was hovering above the intruder in all her red glory.

“Welcome to my nightmare, dearest”, the Nightmare King said as she slowly descended without moving.

Once her feet were touching the floor, she hooked one finger under Kaydence's chin to tilt it up and make her look at her face.

“You do know that if you wish another audience with your King, all you need to do is ask, right?” Grimm continued.

She leaned down so that her face was, oh so close to the butterfly's, and started slowly pushing her mask askew. It was taking _all_ of Kaydence's willpower not to close the tiny gap left between them, not to give in and kiss her and...

She took a step back and readjusted her mask.

“N-No”, she stammered, “I'm- I'm not here for this.”

“Why are you here?” the Nightmare King asked, straightening her posture.

The question almost felt like a command, yet Kaydence couldn't get the words out. Not when the Nightmare Heart was visible right here, looming above the both of them.

Grimm repeated her question.

“Did you ever... consider other possibilities?” the butterfly finally spoke. “Plans that don't involve strengthening...”

She looked up at the Heart.

“What other possibility could there be?” replied the Nightmare King.

This was in that moment that Hornet joined in and quickly explained she picked up the Needle from Kaydence.

“Did you ever consider destroying the Heart?” she asked her niece.

The latter blinked. The others could practically see the gears turning in her head. And... did the beating sound get slightly faster?

“Destroy the...” the Nightmare King finally repeated. “This is unthinkable!”

“The idea never crossed your mind at all, then?” her aunt said.

“My sole purpose for countless lifetimes has been to keep it alive, auntie. Of course I wouldn't think of... this.”

“It is the source of all your problems”, Hornet argued. “The chain that binds you and everyone in your Troupe. You continuing to serve it only caused harm. It must be destroyed.”

The many eyes glowed brighter, angrier, and the Nightmare King teleported into the air above the two intruders.

“I cannot let you hurt my ancestor!” she exclaimed.

“What kind of parent enslaves their descendants for eternity?” her aunt retorted as she moved to shield Kaydence behind her and raised her own needle.

“Kaydence”, Grimm called. “You should wake up now.”

The butterfly did not. What she did do was run to the edge of the room, towards the dark corridor, and watch as the Nightmare King transformed into a floating sphere spewing fireballs all around her and Hornet dodged them left and right.

The fireballs ceased, the Nightmare King went back to her original shape and dived towards her opponent who only barely avoided the attack and was still hit in the face by the trail of flames following her. Hornet gave out a grunt of pain and exertion as she managed to land a hit on the other before she teleported to a different part of the arena.

“...Grimm is scared”, Kaydence realised.

This made the Nightmare King materialise right behind her, towering over her cowering form.

“I am the Nightmare King. I am what bugs are scared of. I am _not_ scared of anything.”

The butterfly straightened up, turned around and slowly took her mask off.

“You and the Heart have been entangled for so long you cannot imagine a life without each other”, she stated. “Even when you want to be free, you can only imagine freedom for others and not for yourself.”

“Stop it!”

“You keep this burden because you do not know who you'd even be without it and that terrifies you.”

“Shut. Up!”

Hornet ran towards them but had to stop abruptly to avoid crashing into the huge spikes Grimm summoned from the ground.

“You know I'm right”, Kaydence continued.

“I. Am. Not. Scared!” the Nightmare King yelled.

“Then what's holding you back from cutting your link to it for good? From finally being your own person? Are you just too weak to-”

Now that struck another nerve. Grimm's eyes were burning brighter than ever before.

“_Don't you dare doubt my power._”

She teleported behind Hornet and grabbed the collar of her cloak.

“Give me back my Needle”, she ordered her.

“Are you going to actually do it?” Hornet asked after shaking herself free.

The Nightmare King simply extended her open hand. Her aunt stared at it for a second, then put the handle of the Needle of Unity in it.

Then the blade appeared, and Scarlet turned it against her own thorax.

Everything went dark.

  
  


Hornet woke up on the floor of her home. Scarlet was still on the same chair, unconscious.

Nearby, the butterfly was lying face down on the couch the queen had previously carried her onto. Her mask had fallen to the floor and broken in half somehow, and the colours of her wings were slightly lighter now. She came to and sat up, looking all around her as though she was seeing everything and everyone here for the first time.

“Where... am I?” she asked her host, who was back on her feet and trying to gently shake her niece awake. “And are they alright?”

“You are in my home”, Hornet explained to her guest, “and... Don't you remember her? This is my niece Scarlet. What is the last thing you remember?”

“Hum... My- my brother died and, well, I-I think someone was there? Someone was there to help me while I was mourning... Why-why can't I remember any detail?”

“This someone was her. She told me about you.”

The butterfly stood up and went to Scarlet's side.

“What happened to-” the apparently _ex_-Troupe member started before Scarlet finally opened her eyes.

Her _black_ eyes.

She stared blankly at the other two.

“What- why are you two looking at me like this?” she finally asked.

Hornet asked her if she remembered what happened, who they were, who she was, anything. The answer to all of these questions was no.

“You both feel... very familiar though”, Scarlet commented. “Like we've known each other for a long time.”

She stood up and stretched.

“You two make yourselves comfortable”, Hornet instructed as she went to grab some food and water for everyone. “Looks like I have a lot of explaining to do.”

  
  


Over the next couple days, Hornet helped Scarlet get caught up on everything that happened before and everyone past her used to know. Atalanta the butterfly had gone to her old apartment, found it occupied by new bugs, and interrogated her former neighbours about the last couple months she had lived there. In the ant nest (that was still receiving aid from Dirtmouth), a band of travelling musicians looking suspiciously like the other Troupe members had been spotted.

It was the middle of the night when Scarlet woke Hornet and Atalanta (the latter was sleeping on the couch) to tell them the egg was about to hatch.

She placed said egg on the pile of cushions she had built in her room for this and the other two rubbed the sleep from their eyes. The three of them sat on the floor to see the baby literally get out of its shell.

“It already looks a lot like you”, Atalanta commented, leaning on the new mother's side.

From her other side, Hornet put one arm around her.

Scarlet presented her child her open palms to crawl onto, and it did.

“Welcome to the world, my child”, she said softly.

“So, what are you going to name them?” the butterfly asked.

“How about...” the mother trailed off, trying to think of something.

The first name that came to her mind was Kaydence, but for some reason it didn't feel appropriate.

“Kay”, she finally decided.

She took her baby in her arms, repeating the name. The tiny creature eventually curled up to sleep.

“They're so adorable”, Atalanta cooed while trying to keep her voice low to avoid waking Kay up.

“They are”, Scarlet replied, full of affection and pride. “I have known them for so little time and yet I would die for them.”

Atalanta and Hornet both voiced their hope that she wouldn't have to. They shared the same willingness to protect the baby at all costs, though.

Meanwhile, far away from Dirtmouth, a group of ants decorated the walls of their home with drawings of a stitched together, many-eyed shape they had seen in their sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you who've followed this series to the end! <3  
If you have questions or want to see more in the Auntie Hornet universe, don't hesitate to ask either on here or on my tumblr hishap.tumblr.com ! ^_^


End file.
